Colours of the Namikaze Family
by SuperNovaXTC
Summary: What if both Minato & Kushina lived through the Kyuubi Attack ? How would it affect the life of Naruto ? First story of mine so please R&R.
1. Prologue

This is my first story in the world of FanFiction and also will be one of the longest stories i've ever wrote. So bear with me if I make any mistakes or the like. Feedbacks are very welcome, bad or good. Just be respectful if it's a bad one. Reminders to update or urges to update would also satisfy me since it means people are enjoying my story.

Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto. If I did Minato and Kushina would still be alive and personally coaching Naruto to be way stronger than they ever were.

* * *

Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash of Konoha. Uzumaki Kushina, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. 2 Legends, 2 villages. Unknown to the villagers, they were married in secret in Kushina's homeland, the village hidden in the Whirlpools. Now a couple, Kushina had left her village to move in with Minato to Konoha. Now a Namikaze both in name and in person, she had thought that her life was perfect. Now if only her husband had lost their bet in killing around 900 Iwa nins single-handedly, she wouldn't even be here ...

Flashback

"So our bet still on?" Minato said cheerfully.

"OF COURSE ! I NEVER go back on my word, that's my ninja way !" Kushina practically shouted back, causing Minato, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito and Rin to flinch from the sheer loudness of her voice.

"Sheesh relax man. I think I'll have a higher chance of going deaf than getting killed by those Iwa nins ..." Minato joked, causing Kushina to blush redder than her hair, something you don't get to see everyday.

"SO..." Kushina interrupted in an attempt to change the subject, " You're REALLY going into there by yourself ?" a hint of concern obvious in her voice.

Minato chuckled, trying to hold back his laughter. Kushina, slightly annoyed with his carefree personality asked/yelled "WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY ?"

By now everyone except Kakashi had already joined in the laughter, even Kakashi had chuckled a little under that usually cold facade he wore usually.

By now, Kushina's face was again startting to get redder than her hair, only this time due to anger mixed with a little annoyance. Trying to keep her cool, she wore a fake smile and turned to Minato again.

"Dear Sir, may I ask you the reason as to why you are laughing ?" Kushina said as politely as possible. Minato, seeing this, remembered two sayings. One was from his teacher, the Sannin Jiraiya.

"Kid, remember this, when a woman talks to you in the most polite way possible after an argument, STOP arguing or doing anything that might irritate her more AT ALL COSTS. You'll regret it..." Minato, remembering this, gulped.

The other one was a saying from the Land of Whirlpools estabilished around 2 weeks after the Uzumaki clan was estabilished. The people, civilians and shinobis alike, had made a saying : "Never piss off the Uzumaki." Combined with what Jiraiya-sensei told him, Minato gulped. Again. Fearing the wrath of a woman.

Stifling his laughter, Minato turned to Kushina and sheepishly explained. " Sorry Sorry. It's just that I find it funny that you're concerned for me when you've never seen me fight before. The Iwa nins don't have a 'retreat on sight' order in their Bingo Book for nothing you know."

Meanwhile, the rest of the team sighed, all of them probably thinking the same thing : To think that their Sensei, the Yellow Flash of Konoha and possibly the best Shinobi of this time, was scared of a woman he just met three days ago... Quite a dissapointment as they sighed for the second time.

Rin and Obito fell behnd out of earshot, not wanting to be caught in an awkward conversation between their sensei and their "guide". Kakashi, however, didn't like Kushina at all and was hell bent on keeping them apart, interrupted them.

"Sensei, I think we're close. There's a large clearing ahead littered with lifeless bodies of both Uzu nin and Iwa nin."

Hearing this, Minato immediately went from 'carefree mode' to 'shinobi mode'. Kushina, however was annoyed at Kakashi for interrupting them when they were having such a good time together. However, she saw that she had no choice but to let it slide. She made a mental note to take revenge on Kakashi later on. For now, she got a fight to win.

The group stopped about 500 metres away from the earth fortress, hiding behind some rocks. Minato rubbed his hands together and took several deep breaths before taking out a scroll and unsealing it. With a poof of smoke, about ten identical bags appeared, he opened them and inside was what seemed to be his trademark weapon, the Tri-Kunai with the seal for Hiraishin no Jutsu; the technique which earned him the title of Yellow Flash. He then crossed his fingers and shouted "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" as about 20 clones appeared. Taking out the Tri-Kunais, he tossed about ten to each clone and said, "Alright guys, listen up. Take these Tri-Kunais, go to those fortresses over there and toss them as near to the enemy as possible. Understood ? Ready...GO!" and the clones scattered.

* * *

The guard, seeing a streak of yellow coming from the back, hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. As the clones neared, he reported in to the leader with his radio. "Excuse me Ryuzo-sama, but we're under attack from what seemed to be shadow clones of HIM... The Yellow Flash..." he trailed off.

The reply came as a shockded voice demanding a report.

The guard reported nervously "No casualties Ryuzo-sama, no deaths, no injured, all they did was toss around three-pronged kunais with some kind of paper on them. Should we carry the 'retreat on sight' order ?"

The man called Ryuzo nodded. This was a pointless raid. A pointless raid with clones that had accomplished nothing. In other words, a distraction. "No. They're probably just clones for a distraction. Destroy them." He replied.

While the clones were busy throwing the Tri-kunais around, Kushina watched. Unimpressed. She turned to the so-called Yellow Flash who was surveying the field with his binoculars and said to him. "Hello, you sure you're the real Yellow Flash of Konoha ? All I see is you throwing around mere customised kunais which will hardly deal any damage to them. I'm not impressed."

Minato chuckled and replied "Don't worry, this is just setting up the stage for the Finale called 'The End of the Iwa Invasion."

* * *

This chapter is just a prologue and therefore very short. Starting from the next chapter it'll get longer and sometimes shorter depends on the time I have to write a chapter. Most likely it'll be about erm, 3000 - 6000 words ? Maybe even longer. Tell me how many words you think should be in one chapter and since this is my first story PLEASE review and tell me your first impressions about it. I'll be updating this story once every few days since i'm free around this time of the year. But around the busy times maybe i'll update it around once a week at its longest. As i said, all comments, good or bad are welcome as long as it's respectfully said. Till next time ~~


	2. The Bet that started it all

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. If I did, Minato and Kushina would never die at the same time leaving Naruto to suffer by himself.

Hi there, 2nd chapter of this story and as i promised, it'll be longer than the prologue. However, the next few chapters may be only around 1000 words instead of the 3000 i promised though. Reason ? It's the first time i'm writing a story beyond 5000 words so it's quite tiring for me to think of 3000 words to put in and type them simultaneously. Not to worry, as i get used to writing I'll gradually increase the word count for each chapter by about...500 words? Therefore, this will result in more chapters for the story. Enough ranting, thanks for reading and i present you the 1st chapter of "Colours of the Namikaze Family". Enjoy.

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Previously on "Colours of the Namikaze Family"

While the clones were busy throwing the Tri-kunais around, Kushina watched. Unimpressed. She turned to the so-called Yellow Flash who was surveying the field with his binoculars and said to him. "Hello, you sure you're the real Yellow Flash of Konoha ? All I see is you throwing around mere customised kunais which will hardly deal any damage to them. I'm not impressed."

Minato chuckled and replied "Don't worry, this is just setting up the stage for the Finale called 'The End of the Iwa Invasion."

* * *

Chapter 1 : The bet that started everything

Minato looked at Kushina, he was intrigued by her. All the girls who chased after him in Konoha were either fangirls with a crazy obsession for him or they do not spark his interests one bit. However, Uzumaki Kushina was different. She saw him as Namikaze Minato and not the Yellow Flash, treating him just as she did for any other person.

Minato was the last surviving member of his clan, the Namikazes. With no Kekkei Genkai or any special familiy jutsus, the Namikazes were treated as an ordinary clan with no special abilities except their trademark spiky yellow hair. That was, until the 5 Great Shinobi Countries heard of a certain Namikaze Minato creating his own seals and jutsus from E-ranked to S+ ranked ones.

However, among all the jutsus he created, 2 of them were the ones that made him rise to glory and fame. The first was the Rasengan which he took 3 years to master. Although incomplete, it was still an A ranked jutsu, said to have broken the best absolute defense of that time. The second was the S+ ranked Hiraishin no Jutsu. The jutsu which comprises of seals and Space-Time Manipulation and the one that earned him the nickname Konoha's Yellow Flash.

* * *

Minato snapped out of his daze as he realised he was staring, much to Kushina's satisfaction. Although she tried to put up an angry face, inside she was cheering maniacally for succeeding in charming the man in front of her.

"Erm..." Minato started, a hint of red visible on his cheeks." Mind if I add another condition to the bet ?" He asked sheepishly.

Kushina, puzzled asked him "Yeah what?"

Minato felt his heart pounding against his ribcage like never before and felt it was getting hard to breathe. He felt that his face was burning too. Blushing even harder, he grinned and said "If I return unharmed, then wear the clothes you wore to dinner the other day ..."

Kushina lifted an eyebrow, then started laughing "Minato-kun if you can really take those fortresses down single-handedly I'll wear it as long as you want .." making Minato's face even redder if that was even possible.

Beside them Kakashi was utterly disgusted by the two's flirting, Obito cheered silently and Rin just sighed, although she was happy for her sensei inside. However, this was not the time for this. There was enemy fortresses in front of them and here they were, flirting with each other like there was no tomorrow.

Minato's face changed in that instant. A face so serious a stranger would never believe that he had such a carefree personality. He stood up and stretched, turning to Kushina as he felt the last of his clones disappear.

Seeing Minato's students not making a move, Kushina's face suddenly grew pale with concern as she stared wide-eyed at Minato "Okay... Seriously, a joke's a joke. But you're not actually planning to attack by yourself are you ?" concern and worry clearly obvious in her tone.

"Worried about me ? Then why don't you give me a kiss for luck ?" a slight grin appearing on his serious facade.

Gaping she stared at him "You're serious ?"

Nodding he waited "Of course, about both the attack and the kiss..."

Obito couldn't stand it any longer and decided to help them "You better kiss him now or you'll regret it if anything happens to him..." he trailed off grinning.

Kushina hesitated, but stepped up to him and tip-toed, placing a soft kiss on his cheek, causing Kakashi to groan and Obito to cheer. Whispering in his ear, Kushina said "You better come back unharmed or you'll suffer my wrath"

Minato took out another Tri-kunai and embedded it onto the ground near them. Grinning, he turned back "Be right back in 3 minutes !"

He then disappeared in a blinding flash of yellow.

Kakashi then added "Ah, I forgot, don't blink your eyes"

* * *

Ryuzo was in his seat drinking a cup of sake when suddenly his radio communicator blasted to life, with blood curdling screams and splashes. Before he could even put his cup down before he saw a blinding yellow flash, excruciating pain in his chest, and saw only darkness as it swallowed him.

All the fighting Uzu nins stood rooted as they watched the spectacle that comes only once in a lifetime in front of them, Kushina was unconsciously clenching her fists until her knuckles turned white. She looked to her left and saw that Kakashi, Obito and Rin were relaxing as if it was a vacation. Kakashi was reading a book about ninjutsu, Obito was cleaning his goggles and Rin was combing her hair.

"What the hell ? Their sensei is out there alone against 900 Iwa nins and they are here acting as if nothing's happening ?" She decided to worry about that later as she turned back to the series of yellow flashes and blood curdling screams filled the air that made her shiver.

Rin scooted over to her and asked "so the bet was that if sensei wins he'll be your date for the next 2 weeks right ? Just to let you know, If you want to take him out to eat, his favourite food's Miso Ramen." Before starting to polish her nails.

Around 2 and a half minutes later Minato appeared in a yellow flash, drenched in blood from the elbows down, panting slightly. Giving her a tired but triumphant grin "It's over, the fortresses are empty of Iwa nins completely."

"So... how does tomorrow sound ? Great time for a date if you ask me..."

Kushina's jaw was open so wide it looked like it was going to touch the ground as she slumped to the ground. To say that she was shocked beyond belief was an understatement as Minato gave her another grin.

This battle was no doubt going into the history books and be told to future generations for years to come.

* * *

Minato had rested for a few hours back in Kushina's home. By around evening, he was up and about again having replenished his chakra sufficiently. He went down to the living room of the house and saw that most of the village's most important people were there, including Kushina and her father Uzumaki Naoto lined up. The next thing he knew, all of them bowed to him at the same time and announced "You have our sincerest thanks Namikaze Minato, without your help our country would be invaded by Iwa nins. Thanks to you, we can now sleep in peace at night without having to worry about an invasion. Once again, WE THANK YOU ."

Minato, being the humble man that he was, grinned and laughed sheepishly, not knowing what to do in such a situation. He simply said "No need for thanks, I'm just doing what I can and should do. He requested them to raise their heads and relax since he was feeling really uncomfortable in such an awkward situation. At his request, the people did raise up their heads and began relaxing as like how a celebration party should be.

* * *

Well, that's it for chapter 2, slightly longer than the previous chapter. Just a note : the first few chapters would be all about the past. The present would start at around ... chapter 6 ? So from the prologue until i write present would all be a reminiscence of the past of Minato and Kushina and a few other people I guess. Haven't really added too many characters yet but all will happen in due time. Well then, till next time ~

Next Chapter : Celebrations for a Hero


	3. Celebrations for a Hero

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. If I did Minato wil be the Fourth Hokage for a long, long time, he won't even die ...

First things first, I'm SERIOUSLY SORRY. I was waiting for my laptop to arrive and it got delayed until last week. I've been busy because of school so i never had time to update. Once again, I'm SO SORRY.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. I never imagined that my story would have so many people liking it. Special thanks to cholericDolphin for her ideas. (Sorry if i got your gender wrong.) She improved my stories by a lot in organisation and in plot. Thanks again. Enough babbling, without further ado, i present you : "Colours of the Namikaze Family" : Chapter 2

Previously on "Colours of the Namikaze Family"

Minato had rested for a few hours back in Kushina's home. By around evening, he was up and about again having replenished his chakra sufficiently. He went down to the living room of the house and saw that most of the village's most important people were there, including Kushina and her father Uzumaki Naoto lined up. The next thing he knew, all of them bowed to him at the same time and announced "You have our sincerest thanks Namikaze Minato, without your help our country would be invaded by Iwa nins. Thanks to you, we can now sleep in peace at night without having to worry about an invasion. Once again, WE THANK YOU ."

Minato, being the humble man that he was, grinned and laughed sheepishly, not knowing what to do in such a situation. He simply said "No need for thanks, I'm just doing what I can and should do. He requested them to raise their heads and relax since he was feeling really uncomfortable in such an awkward situation. At his request, the people did raise up their heads and began relaxing as like how a celebration party should be.

* * *

Chapter 2 : Celebrations for a Hero

The village hidden in the Whirlpools was in a party mode. All around, music could be heard, the streets were full of life. Couples, old or young, danced in the village square. Fireworks were decorating the sky above, filling the night sky with colours. If it was a week ago, the population would be on their guard since it probably meant that they were under attack. However, every 'pop' sounds of the fireworks caused 'oohs', 'aahs' and cries of joy. Tables have been hastily set up around the village square, to celebrate the success of the legend in town and their saviour. The village head, Uzumaki Naoto, the council, Kushina and Minato sat at the longest table .

Although, they suffered such a preposterous defeat, the Iwa nins had a lot of ninjas to spare. However, considering that the forces around Whirlpool was annihilated by Minato. It was highly likely that they will not attack Whirlpool again for quite some time.

Children were running around the streets cheering, playing ninja and banging on drums wildly. The men were drinking like there was no tomorrow, laughing and occassionally a fight could be heard here and there. Nevertheless, they were enjoying themselves, hitting on every woman or lady they deem worthy. The women were gossiping among themselves while they were busy making food and getting more alcohol for the men and guests. The one thing they all did in common was to look up at the night sky and take in the spectacle of brilliant lights lighting up the sky in every possible colour.

By now everyone had heard the feat of Minato. The ones at the battlefield were glad that they were allies with Konoha, and they were the ones who had spread what Minato had done. The description was too astounding that some people would not believe it no matter how many times they were told by amny different people. 4 fortresses was theirs, conquered single-handedly by Minato. Yet soon that there was no denying that the 4 fortresses really were theirs and that Minato had been the one to conquer them. The streets rang out with calls and screams of gratitude for him.

Obito and Rin had been given permission by their sensei to enjoy themselves for tonight. They needed no further encouragement after that. Immediately, he ran off for some free food and sake. Since ninjas were considered adults the moment they put on their headband, Obito was grateful for the rules for the first time. Rin was trailing behind sighing and muttering something Obito heard as "... still acting like kids...". It wasn't that Rin didn't enjoy being in the crowds, she was there mainly to make sure that Obito get back to their lodgings whole.

The moment they saw the leaf headband, the girls swarmed around Obito, demanding stories from his ninja experiences and fights with his team. Obito was more than happy to share his experiences with them. Although as he downed more and more sake his speech began to slur and his stories became more and more exagerrated. Rin, who was keeping an eye on Obito, overheard it and could do nothing but sigh.

* * *

Minato was alone on the roof of a house overlooking the festival-like scene. Smiling to himself, he was glad that he could do something to help these people. His smile soon turned into a frown as he thought about the ongoing war. Wishing it would end soon, he swore to himself, vowing to end this war as soon as possible. Sure, he was probably one of the strongest shinobi in all of the five great hidden villages, but one man could only do so much.

"Penny for your thoughts ." Kushina suddenly said behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. Sighing again, Minato replied, "Nothing much, just that I wish that this war would end faster ..." Looking up at the sky again, he continued, "But this should do for now, I'm just glad I was able to help all these people."

Snickering, Kushina said in a sarcastic tone, "Well well well, the Great Yellow Flash of Konoha is a daydreamer. What a joke. Imagine what the public will say if the find out about this ..." She trailed off, leaving Minato to collect his own thoughts before it struck him. "What the hell ?" sending Kushina into a fit of laughter and Minato grabbing hold of her and trying to tickle her, which he failed at miserably.

"Am I interrupting ?" a voice said behind them, jolting them out of their 'game'. Breaking apart, they turned to face Kushina's father who was staring disapprovingly of them.

"Honestly ? Not really, you only ruined it" Kushina muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes while Minato just covered his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter. Oh yes, he was going to have a lot of fun here.

* * *

A/N : For what it's worth, I'M REALLY SORRY. I wanted to tell u guys what happened and this was on hiatus, but I couldn't due to me having no time and a little lack of internet access. Rest assured, I WON'T abandon this story. I'm going to start updating a lot of chapters now, but cut me some slack if it's late.


	4. An EPIC Date, Confessions and Separation

Disclaimer : do not own Naruto. Wish i did though ...

A/N: Heyloo ~ For what it's worth readers, I'm reaallly sorry for not updating sooner. Lost my password for my account and had national exams coming. So ... yeah. Here's the story.

Previously on Colours of the Namikazes

* * *

"Am I interrupting ?" a voice said behind them, jolting them out of their 'game'. Breaking apart, they turned to face Kushina's father who was staring disapprovingly of them.

"Erm ... Not really, you only ruined it" Kushina said sarcastically, rolling her eyes while Minato just covered his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter. Oh yes, he was going to have a lot of fun here.

* * *

Chapter 3: An EPIC date, Confessions and Separation

* * *

The following night, Minato & Kushina were found in a bar in the outskirts of Whirlpool, enjoying each other's company. Minato in his usual jounin outfit, and Kushina in the orange dress that reduced the Great Yellow Flash into a pool of drool. Both of them sighed in content, relishing every moment of the date.

"Soo ... When are you going back to Konoha ?" Kushina asked out of the blue. Wincing slightly, Minato had hoped she wouldn't ask that question. He was planning to delay the news, but it seems that it was not to be. Sighing, the mood changed into a serious one before Minato looked up, and answered meekly ...

"Tomorrow."

"Erm Minato-kun I'm sorry could you repeat that ? I didn't hear it clearly ..."

"Tomorrow. Morning" Minato repeated himself, only louder this time.

" TOMORROW ? WHEN WERE YOU PLANNING TO TELL ME ?" Kushina shrieked, making everyone in the bar turn to look at them, her wild blood red hair flailing about, blown by waht Minato could guess was either wind, or killikng intent directed at himself. Gulping for the sixteenth time that day, Kushina's expression promised him a world of pain and the true wrath of the red hot-blooded habanero if he gave her the wrong answer.

"Erm ... Calm down Kushina-chan, we can talk this out ... I was planning to tell you later, after our date ends ... Ehehehe ..." Minato chuckled sheepishly, desperately attempting to ease the tension.

"Nuh-uh ... Wrong answer. Minato-kun, even though I likie you ... A LOT, you've never known why I was called the red hot-blooded habanero, did you ?" Kushina giggled cheerfully, an intent of ever-present malice coating her sweet tone. Cracking her knuckles, Minato realized that sometime during their bickering, the only ones left in the bar was the two of them, even the bartender had gone to the back of the small building.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Minato grumbled, "Oh ... Damn it. I'm so dead ..."

Minato's screams could be heard throughout Whirlpool that night. No one did get a good night's sleep. Whenever, they would doze off, another blood-curdling screams would jolt them awake. Giving up, all the villagers of Uzu did throughout the night was wince, grimace and feel shivers run down their spines. Everyone was listless the next day, some people sporting bags under their eyes, making it look like the Village of Pandas instead of Whirlpool.

Minato's return was delayed by three days due to his injuries.

* * *

"Goddammit Sensei, I know you wanted to flirt and have some fun with Uzumaki-san, but can't you do it such that you don't get any injuries and in the process, squander my chakra to the point of exhaustion ?' Rin complained for the fourth time that day.

"Now now Rin ... Mind your language and your manners. I know I've been an ass, but keep in mind, I AM still your sensei after all ..." Minato chided her, making Rin pout and in turn, Obito blush. Kakashi just snorted in disgust.

A knock on the door and a mop of blood red hair popped in, revealing it to be Kushina.

"Mina-kunn ~~~" She purred seductively, making Minato whimper and shiver uncontrollably. Oh how she loved his reaction, too bad she only found out two days ago. Since then, she never let Minato live it down, addressing him that way every chance she got.

"Hmm ? What is it Beni-Hime (Crimson Princess) ?" Minato countered with his personal pet name of Kushina, earning a similar reaction from her.

Looking on, Kakashi, Obito and Rin all had different expressions. Kakashi's face was as aloof as ever, not that there's much to see or even notice. Obito had a trickle of blood running down his nose and he had a glazed expression, seeming very far away and lost in his own * cough * thoughts. Rin however, sported a face that would put a tomato seem white, her blush so red it seemed like she would die from lack of blood to whatever's below her neck.

"Kufufufu. How're your injuries coming along ? I'm glad you could stay with me for a while longer than you planned ..." Her malicious tone filled the room, causing everyone except Kakashi to shudder in fear.

"The-They're better ... at least ... Too bad I really must go back to Konoha tomorrow. Otherwise, the old man's gonna kill me twice over ..." Minato insisted.

"Old Man ? Who's he ?" a puzzled Kushina scanned the room for an answer. Rin, not wanting to hear anymore disrespect towards the Third Hokage, spoke up, "He's our village's Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, also known as the Professor. Sure, he's getting kind of old now, but he still can fight almost anyone in the world and come out on top."

"Heh ~.. Doesn't appeal to me nor impress me at all ..." Kushina retorted, making Rin pout at her failed attempt to restore her beloved Sandaime's tarnished name ...

"Well whatever, although she says that the old man does have a nemesis that he can't figure out a way to defeat ..." Minato interjected

Intrigued by this new piece of information, Kushina questioned "And what would that be ? Another village's Kage ? S-rank missing nin with Kinjutsu ?"

Hearing this, Minato could only chuckle at Kushina's standard train of thought. Then again, nobody would've thought that such a thing was possible ...

"Hmm ? You really wanna know ?" Minato teased her, letting his tone turn into one of indifference, as if not caring about Kushina's question at all ...

"YES DAMNIT ! TELL ME NOW OR I'LL CUT OFF A PART THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO LOSE THIS INSTANT !" Kushina roared, letting her killing intent flow and her blood red hair rise and flutter in the air violently, as if blown about by an invisible wind. Obito collapsed to his knees, finding it hard to breathe while Rin fell ungracefully on her butt, breathing heavily. Kakashi however, managed to remain standing, although his knees were visibly knocking against each other, threatening to buckle anytime.

"Fine, give me a kiss within five seconds, ON MY LIPS ..." Minato finished, not at all affected by Kushina's malicious killing intent.

"Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell m- WHAT ?" Kushina shrieked, making everyone cover their ears and the glass run a line of crack across while processing what Minato just said, soon after, her face turned as red as her hair.

"You heard me. Five ... " Minato started

"Four" Kushina stood rooted.

"Three" A hesitant step forward.

"Two" Bigger strides towards Minato.

"ONE" Last minute hesitation.

"Z- oof !" Minato didn't have a chance to finish the word when he felt something warm crash onto his lips and something else glomping onto his chest.

Breaking apart, Minato stood there gaping. Sure, he knew that Kushina had a crush on him, maybe even loved him and vice versa. But this ? It was intended to be a joke to tease her, not that he would tell her that, reckless as he is, Minato knew when to draw the line.

Looking around, Rin was blushing madly, Obito had passed out with a trickle of blood running down his nose and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. 'Must have taken a walk or something'. Shrugging it off, he looked down at the epitome of beauty that was Uzumaki Kushina and smiled as said beauty snuggled into his chest, stroking her silky hair softly. Pushing her off and facing her, he snickered as he saw her embarassed, looking down and making her fringe cover her eyes. Lifting it up, Minato gazed at her emerald eyes with his own sapphire, admiring it. Kushina, realizing what they were doing, broke the eye contact and stood up, coughing while trying to regain her previous demeanor and failing miserably, causing everyone to sweatdrop with the exception of Obito, who was still unconscious.

"Now TELL ME." Kushina growled, ominously, her tone promising pain and despair to whoever gave her the wrong answer. Shrinking back in fear, Minato cleared his throat and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, then looked up at Kushina and while grinning, replied "Paperwork", causing Kushina to blink, and after three seconds of silence, facefault.

"P-P-P-Paperwork ? As in forms, mission requests, those things made from trees, have some sort of written words by ink, requires the Hokage stamp and his signature and comes in stacks ?" Kushina spluttered, wondering how the Kami no Shinobi could be defeated by non-living things.

Sweatdropping at the over-detailed explanation, Minato blinked and replied, " Do you know anything else that is called paperwork ? Cause as far as I know, there isn't anything else that goes by the name of paperwork. And I was the Rookie of the Year with the highest scores for my languages you know."

Processing the information, Kushina stood rooted for a few seconds, eyes glazed and then all of a sudden, keeled over and started roaring in laughter, holding her stomach and rolling around like a worm on dry land. Waiting for her to stop, Rin tried to wake Obito up (by slapping him in the face) and Minato checked his injuries and bandages over.

Finally stopping after laughing for who knows how long and panting on the ground, Kushina stood up with wobbly legs and said "Well I think I'll just leave you to rest. Any more information overload and I think I'll faint, and we don't want that ... do we ?" Minato, blushing a bit, decided to get her back and replied, " Well, I think i do ... But do you ?" in a husky voice, causing Kushina to choke, stumble, blush pink and huffing in defeat, hurried out of the door and slamming it, causing Minato to shake his head and chuckle.

" I swear sensei, you might as well bring Uzumaki-san back with us to Konoha and marry her since you're both already so comfortable and love-dovey with each other." Rin sighed, causing Minato to hum in thought.

* * *

Later that night ...

Minato sat up in bed, unable to sleep. His mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and he could not get them out of his mind. The main thing swirling around was what Rin said. Truth be told, he had already thought of that before Rin even said it, but did not really think it over seriously. Now that Rin had brought the matter up again, it had become the cause of his insomnia.

Sighing and turning to look out of the window, he saw a full moon shining brightly and yet its glow had an eerie glow to it. Minato had a lot of things to consider. Due to his reputation, he had made a lot of enemies in Iwa, Kumo and a few other countries. With that in mind and also the Hokage position, he did not want Kushina to be in the midst of danger every single moment. And for her protection, were he to marry her, he did not want Kushina flaunting his name around and making herself a target for his enemies. However, were she to retain her original surname, the citizens of Konoha would think that she was his mistress or something and he did not want that for her. Hence the current dilemma. Sighing once again, he turned to Rin and muttered "Damnit Rin, if I didn't know better I'd say this is your way of taking revenge on me." before lying down and forcing himself to sleep. By counting sheep.

* * *

The next day

Minato and his team were gathered at the gates of Uzushio, together with Kushina, her father and many others who wanted to thank Minato for one last time. Stepping forward, Minato and Kushina's father, Uzumaki Byakuya then locked eyes with each other, as if having a silent conversation. Then, simultaneously, both of them stretched their hands out, prompting the other to shake it and smiled at each other.

"Thank you Yellow Flash. Without you, I wouldn't have much of a family left, let alone a village. You not only saved the village, you also saved the spirit of Whirlpool and the will of Uzu. For that, I am deeply indebted to you." Byakuya stated, ending with a formal bow.

Minato, however, just smiled and replied, " Rise please, Byakuya-san. I'm glad I could be of help. Besides, had i not come, I wouldn't have met the great woman known as your daughter, let alone know her. I have you to thank for that, so we're even." Behind her, Kushina's cheeks produced a tinge of red while the citizens of Uzu just stared at her, puzzled.

"Thank you, you will be forever welcome in Uzu and our alliance with Konoha will be fortified further. We will never forget the help you have provided for us. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do." Bowing one last time, he turned and walked back into the village, whispering something to Kushina before continuing.

Left with only Minato's team and Kushina. They shared an awkward silence before Minato turned to his team and asked them to leave without him, stating that he would catch up. Rin nodded, Kakashi grunted while Obito, adamant on staying, tried to persuade his sensei. Failing in his persuasion, Obito cried anime tears (think Gai and Lee) and relucantly left, leaving Minato and Kushina alone.

Fidgeting around, both of them shared an awkward silence before they both started.

"Mina-kun"

"Kushi-chan"

Blushing at the same time, Minato said "You first. Ladies first."

Kushina, getting redder by the second, tried to form sentences and voice it out loud. However, all she could get out was "Erm ... well ... Uh ... I mean ..." causing Minato to chuckle in humour.

"Hey it's not funny ! Alright then, why don't you go first ?" Kushina challenged, causing Minato to stop abruptly and gulp. Taking a few deep breaths and walking towards her, Minato tried to calm himself down. What he did and said next nearly caused Kushina to have a heart attack.

A/N AND That's it ! A CLIFFHANGER ! MUAHAHAHAHAA ! Okay I know I'm really bad for doing this but it's a longer chapter than others. Since some people have requested me to make my chapters longer, that's what I did. However, if I continued, it would be a long time before I could end it. So I apologize for the cliffhanger. Next chapter's gonna be out in a few days though. So hold your breath and please review. I'll slowly increase the length of each chapter and I'll try as much as possible to reply all of your reviews. I'm mugging for national exams so ~~ XTC blasting off ! Until next time ...


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